This post was contributed by Sarah of Little Bins For Little Hands.
A Fun Sensory Bin Gift your Kids will LOVE!
These simple sensory bins make unique kids gifts and fun travel play ideas for all ages. A sensory bin is a great gift for encouraging creativity, exploration, and discovery.
They are also excellent when paired with a kids’ book. Multiple ages can enjoy the same bin (parent supervision may be needed with small children). In addition to gifts, they make a super surprise kids travel activity to pull out at your relatives’ house. This will keep the kids happy for quite a while and hopefully give you a chance to relax!
Between the dollar store and coupons for major brand craft stores, these three sensory bins were put together on a very small budget. I am always on the lookout at used book stores for great books to add to different themes.
I chose to keep these bins as neat as possible. I limited the type of filler I used to lessen the mess at relatives homes. Everything is fairly easy to pick up if spilled or dumped. I know some people have trouble with mess from sensory bins if they are not used to it. Vase fillers like gems
and rocks
as well as pom poms
, little jars of homemade playdough and Christmas bows
make fun fillers that are easy to pick up and store.
Penguin Themed Sensory Bin
I love Toob Toys
! There are so many fun themes to choose from, too. This bin is all about penguins. I added some colored gems
, white foam paper
icebergs, blue felt
from my collection, an ice-cube tray
, tongs, white pom poms
, and a couple of books I have picked up along the way. Kids can play along with the penguins and the book, set up ocean scenes and use the tongs to practice fine motor skills!
Construction Theme Sensory Bin
These trucks
are a great little dollar store find. There are three sets here. I cut some different colored felt
to make a construction site, added the same gems
as the penguin bin, a scoop
, small rocks
, craft sticks
, and a little container of playdough (home-made or store-bought
is fine), I will seal the play dough in a baggy as well. Kids can make tracks in the play dough, use the play dough as cement for the popsicle sticks and stones or just create! You can always add a book to this as well. We have tons of construction themed books
!
Christmas Themed Sensory Bin
Well, It is the holidays so why not throw in some pre-Christmas fun! This could also be turned into a winter theme, too. I added more gems
, holiday bows
, pom poms
, buttons
, and little miniature ornaments
. I also added a star-shaped ice-cube tray
, tongs
, and a small container
for additional play and sorting. As a final touch, I added some brown felt shapes
: a gingerbread man, Christmas tree, and stocking. These can be decorated with the different items in the bin over and over. Lots to count, too, and you can turn it into a math activity for you and your child.
Any type of small storage bin
will do, but I find this 12 x 12″ size scrapbooking bin
handy. There are so many themes and creative ways to fill a simple sensory bin to give as a gift or to take on a trip. We have made them for kids birthday gifts, too.
I hope these suggestions give you some ideas for making your own gifts either for your kids, friends or relatives. If you have a long trip ahead of you, bring one along. Something new and fun always makes trips a little more enjoyable. What will you fill your sensory bin with?
Sarah is a stay at home mama to one energetic four year old boy. Hands-on learning and sensory play are a big part of each day’s lessons and activities. Liam has Aspergers Syndrome and SPD, so each day is unique and a bit messy but fun! She is the author of Little Bins For Little Hands.
I am so so excited about this simple idea for a compact little sensory bin. I love these boxes for storing other materials, but had never thought of using them for some sensory play materials. I plan to make a bunch to have on hand for my kiddos, but I also love Sarah’s idea for giving them as gifts. Thanks so much, Sarah!
Esther says
I love this iidea and that you incorporated sensory play and literacy together. Quick Question: have you found that the scrapbooking bins are,
1. Deep enough to add most types of materials?
2. Sturdy enough that if a child drops it, they wont crack?
3. Are the clips fragile/ easily fall off?
I can imagine that these would work great for older kids too by implementing a STEM engineering challenge. What a great little suitcase of fun!
Krissy of B-Inspired Mama says
Hi, Esther! Let me try to answer your questions:
1. Yes, they are deep enough, however, if you are using fine/messy materials (such as rice, sand, or water beads) I would use a container that has higher sides to better contain the mess. I have used shoebox-size bins with lids; you just sacrifice the surface play area for some depth for little hands to get down into instead.
2. This one might depend on the manufacturer? I have never had any crack from drops.
3. I would have the same question about the clips. This was a guest post, so I don’t have direct experience with these bins with clips. The similar bins I have used have built-in clips that can’t come off at all.
Happy sensory playing! 😉
Diana Restrepo says
Me encada la creativada y lo especial que es en la parte motora de los niños.
Gracias por ayudarnos en nuestro labor dÃa a dÃa.
Kristina @ School Time Snippets says
I had just thought of doing something like this, too so I am so glad to see this post to see how you “made it.” Love this idea! Was thinking of doing one for a book my daughter and I really enjoy!
Krissy @ B-Inspired Mama says
I just made a bunch the other day for my toddler. Sarah is brilliant!
Theres Just One Mommy says
Love the idea of being able to store the sensory bins for later and even add a book! I tend to have all our sensory items in a big box and then if they ask for one again, I have to hunt out the items to put in our sensory tub.
Love that you can give it as a gift this way, too!
Krissy @ B-Inspired Mama says
I know – I totally love that she added a book. So cool!